Door closer and check



May 7, 1929.

B. s. BERNHARD DOOR CLOSER AND CHECK May 7, 1929. B. s. BERNHARD DOORCLOSER AND CHECK Filed Feb. l 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 May 7, 1929- B. s.BERNHARD DOOR CLOSER AND CHECK 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 1, 1926 MaY7,l929- B. s.l .BERNHARD v1,711,826

fnooRvcLosER AND CHECK Filed Feb, l, 1926 4Shees-Sheet 4:-

` lllllllllllllrlh 'l' MLM@ ATTDfM-g f Patented May 7, 1929.v

UNITED As12afrasf immuun s. BRNHARD, or BosTomMAssAcHUsETTs.

Application mearebriiary One of the objects of my invention is tolprovide a 'door closer and check to be em-'j bedded in a door 'or thelike and in the vsupport therefor and of such small dimensiony in thedirection of its extension into the door' y andsupport that the devicewill not undesirably interfere with the construction of the support as,for example, with the plastering or with the construction of the door orthe like as, for example, with parts beyond that style which is adjacenttothe support, the desirability of such small extension being well known-to those skilled in the art. Another object is to provide a door closerand check of very great power.` l

Other objects will be .pointed out below. A feature` of my invention isthat the piston moves vertically with a consequentsaving of space in adirection extending into the door or support, the piston being capableof being mounted to move within the door or within the support.

Another feature of my invention is a worm to engage and operate the`piston and preferably the axes of the worm and of the Cil - of Figurepistonare vertical and identical.

Another feature is auto atic mechanism for relieving strain on certain,of the working partsand on the pivotal connection between the door andsupport.

Another feature is a mechanism including a flexible member to preventundesired closing-of the door or the like and preferably this memberactsfrictionally to retard undesired swinging'. v

Other featuresare guiding mechanism for the door-closing chain andtension devices kfor thaty chain.

Other feat-ures'will be pointed out below.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a central vertical section of a door closerand check embodying Iny- 1nvention; l

Figure 2 is a portion of lthe sectional view 1 but with the pistonandsprings in positions different from those of Figure 1 `4 Figure' is asection on linevv 3-3 of Figure 1' i 'l Figure 1 is a Ipartial sectiononwline' 4-4 of-Figure 1; 1

Figure 5 is 'a ^v1ew partlyun. planand Doon. CLOSER' ernennen 1, i926.serial No. 85,159.

partly in section on line 5-5 of Figure 1 lwith the door open; Figure 6is afragmentary plan and section more fully described below guidingmeans; v y

Figure 8 1s a bottom view of part of the guidingl means; i l

AFigure 7 is an elevation of part of the Figure 9 is a partial plan andpartial seetion on line 9 9 of Figure 1 with the door open; i

Figure 10 is a sectional detail on line 10-10 of Figure 9;

Figure 11 is a fragmentary end elevation,

partly 1n section, showing particularly parts ,lof the guiding means;and

Flgure 12 is a front elevation of the housing.

-Door 1 is hinged to support 2 which has the trim 3 and plastering 4.The support, 'in the form of my invention shown, is recessedto receivecasing 5 which has a checking chamber 6 within which moves piston 7, thelatter having flange 8 guided by guide `rods 9 and 10, which have lugsat each' end, the lugs at the bottom being press fitted into the casingand the lugs at the top entering suitable openings in plate 11 which isheld to the casing 5 by screws 12, gasket 13 being interposed ifdesired. V

Springs 14 and 15 surround guide rods 9 and 10 and abut at their tops aainst plate A11 and at their bottoms against ange 8 and tend to forceiston 7 downwardly.

The piston is interiorly threaded to engageworm 16, the shaft 17 ofwhich extends upwardly into a cylindrical borel in flange 18 of plate.11, said shaft having integral collar 19 bearing against thrust washer20, the latter bearing aga-inst t-he bottom `edge of flange 18.- Theworm member at the bottom thereof has pressed into it at its centre ahardened steel ball 21 which turns upon hardened -steel disk 22, thusproviding a single point bearing` of very low friction and greatdurability. The shaft isprovided at its upperend with a drain groove andaY packing groove and also with teeth 23 which extend through opening 24in plate 11 and eng e rack 25. These teeth 23 extend upward ducedformand upon their reduced portions is splined vsprocket 26 to bedescribed below.

The top of the shaft is accessible from'the outsidethrough opening 27 inthe cover -which will be .described below so that` a suitable tool maybe applied to the top of the shaft for installation purposes. Casing 5is substantially filled with suitable fluid, such as oil, and in .orderto permit ready passage ,of fluid from chamber 28 to the space 6 Iprovide conduits 29 and 3() in guide rod l0, conduit 29 leadingr fromchamber 28 to conduit 30 and the latter leading to cond-uit 31 in casing5. Conduit v31 is controlled by ball valve 32 in chamber 33, from whichconduit 34 leads to chamber 6. Guide rod 10 is exteriorly flattened atfor permitting free passageof the liquid between it and flange 8 to thechamberl 6 vat .the beginning of the up stroke.

portion 43 of the piston and the wall of chamber 6 and thence to chamber28. Even if valveAO is open the unflattened portion ofthe piston willclose conduit 42. In order to prevent leakage the lower lug ofguide rod9 is a very tight fit in casing 5.l In order to prevent leakage fromconduit 41 past lvalve 40and-.up through conduit 39 I provide a sleeve44 pressed tightly into the casing 5, and further provide suitablepacking 45 to prevent leakage to the outsideof the casing.

'A sleeve 46 is press fitted into the casing and forms a conduit leadingto conduit 39 and thence to chamber 28, one end of the sleeve beingnormally closed by ball 47 which is held in placeby spring 48, thelatter being held under predetermined pressure by nut 49. 'If thepressure in chamber 6 exceeds said predeterminedpressure as Dfor exampleby pressure caused by attempting to force the door shut then said ball47 will 'be forced oil' its seat and the strain on certain of theworking parts and onthe piv otal connection between the door and supportwill be automatically relieved by escape of the fluidthrough conduit 39to chamber 28 and at that time escape of fluid to the outside ot thecasing is prevented by packing 50 held in place by nut 51. When theexcessive pressure is relieved the ball 47 will reseat itselfautomatically.

Sprocket 26 is, as above/explained, splined to the shaft 17 and is inengagement with chain 52, one end of which is pivoted to stud 53 havinga flange 54 which forms one abutment for compression (spring 55 theother abutment of which is the inwardly extending shoulder 56 of thehousing 57 whichA is em-` bedded in the door 1 in' the form shown,

4gagement with sprocket 26 and any said studv 53 having a boss- 58 whichhas a perforation 59 to receive one end of coiled spring 60 the otherend of which is looped over pin 61 mounted in the housing 57 ,said

ysprin 6() acting as a take-'up for'the chain as wil be more fullydescribed below, the stud and two springs 55 and 60 being mounted withinthe bore 62 of the housing 57.v

The chain 52 extends from stud 53 through opening 63' in the casing andruns on'shoe 64 which is in the form of a block held in position withrelation to plate 11y by spacing member 65 and vheld immovably by screw66 which engages plate 11, shoe 64 abutting against a wall-of opening 63as appears clearlyin Figure 5.

From shoe 64 the chain extends into enency to slip olli the teeth`7ofl't'he sprocket would be prevented by cover 67.which is held in placeby'screws`68. The chain, 'as

it moves to the right inFigure `5, is dis-v engaged from the s rocket 26by surface 69 of plate member 0 and then passes between said platemember 70 and semi-cirtendcular block 71 -to sprocket y72 and fromsprocket 72 the chain moves to the left in Figure 5 between plate member70 aand .cover 67 and thence into engagement with the teeth of sprocket26 (at the topv iny Figure 5), .continuing to the left in Figure 5- forthe rest of the travel ofthe chain. Block 73 is fastenedto plate 11 by1screw 74 and holds the chain up in position for engage-- 'ment with theteeth of sprocket 26 (at the top inv Figure 6). p Y one end bent toengage sprocket 72 and the other. end bent to engage shaft 76 upon whichsprocket 72 is free to turn, saidshaft being reduced at its lower e'ndand threaded to engage plate 11 and'being supported at its upper end byfitting an aperture in the cover 67,'this upper end having a slot for a.screw driver in which slot rests one end of spring 75.

The description just above 'given is of `the movement of the chain whenthe door is being closed.' Plate.77 is integral with parts 70 and 71 andcou'sequentlyholds part 71 in place and Torsion spring 75 has holdsitself and parts 70 and 71 in place.

Rock 25 is kept in proper relation to teeth 23 by the wall of cover 67and is prevented -from tilting away from said wall by pin 78. Pivotallyconnected to the rack 25 is I one end Iof a flexible member 79 in theform of a coiled spring,- the other-end lof said flexible member havinga button' 80 provided4 with: a groove in which is placed a split ringA81 having frictional engagement with the bore 82 of lhousing 57, th'epurpose of this frictional engagement being to 'retard undesiredswinging. At. the vclosed end of bore -82 -is a resilient diskpreferably of in the bore 82.

leather 'to form a yielding abutment for the button 80. The bore 82 ispreferably flared at 84 to facilitate the bending of flexible member 79and is preferably flared at 85. to give 'additional space for the.flexible member. Pins 86 and 87 prevent button 80 from leaving bore82'but d o not interfere with the movement of the coils of the flexiblemember, said ins being inserted in the housing 57` after t e buttonV 80has beeny inserted I have described my pistonl and the fluid chamber asembedded inthe support but they and' their casing mightbe embedded inthedoor or the like and insuch case the housing K' might be; embedded. inthe support.

When thedoor is closed no .part of my device is visible from either sideof the door.

`2o opening 63 in contact with shoe 64, semi- When thedoor is started inits opening movement .the ehain52 moves through the circular block 71guiding each link of the chain as such link passes said blockA intoearly engagement with the sprocket 26, that isto say, into engagementwith a tooth of the sprocket additional to those teeth which wouldbeengaged without such yblock so'that such early and additionalengagement overcomes the lnormal tendency of the chain to walk away fromthe sprocket which might result in jamming of the chain against the.

wall of the cover.

During the closing movement the curved portion 69 of plate 70 actstodisengage the chainfrom sprocket 72, the latter actlng to lay aWa-ythe chain iii-proper position fory and thence through conduits-'33 and34 to' chamber 6.` A relatively-small amount of uid may passy throughconduits39, .37, 38, 37 and 36 to chamber 6. During the opening movementthe rack 25 is moved 'to the left in Figure 9 by teeth 23,'the rackmoving slower than the chain so that when the door is in the position ofFigure 9 the button 8() will be spaced from disk 83, the flexible eleyment 79 accommodating itself to thel opening of the door. y

When the door is released bythe operator the springs 14,:1nd'15 act toforce the piston doivn 'which forces fluid from chamber 6 throughconduit 34 into conduit 33 and thereby forces ball valve 32 The maincontrol valve 35a is adjustable against its seat.l

and controls thelentire closing if adjustable valve 40 is closed, thefluid, during theclos ing, escaping from chamber 6 through conduit 36past the open valve 35a and through conduits 37, 37, 38 and 39 back tochambery 7o 28. If valve 40 is open', as shown,- then, near the end ofthe closing movement the fluid which` isin conduit 36and conduiti41 andaround sleeve' 46 and is-prevented from escape by the `Wall of piston7,may, wheni` the flattened portion 43 comes opposite conduit 42, escapepast the piston 7 into chamber 28, this being particularly usefulinconnection with the. latching because it reduces the ,rea` sistance tothe springs 14 and 15 at the time so of latching. If this additionalforce at the time of latching` is notdesired valve 40 may bepermanently'closed, such permanent closing of valve 40 having no effectof/impairing the'utility of the device if such additional 85 force atlatching is not desired. 1 Y Spring 48 is normally adjusted to h ld ball47 against its seat as above explained but it'may be forced olf its',seat to relietve' the pressure by escapeof fluid through conduits 37aand 39 and around sleeve 44' to chamber28 if undesired strain is put oncerj tain of the Working parts andon the pivotal connection between thedoor andthe support as, for example, by Wind or byl pushing l onthe doorby the operator,such relief of pressure being available until the piston.7 closes conduit, 46 whereupon the checking action will be fully ineffect and at such ,time

there VWill be no occasion to provide such re- 10e lief. I

`When the door has been opened through approximately 180 the outermostlink of the chain WillA rest against one ter.' edge of` shoulder 56 andsaid link then becomes a 105 sort vof lever which tends to move lstud 53outward fro'mthe housing and this tendency is yieldinglylresisted bycompression .spring 55 thereby relieving excessive tension on chain 52If the door, in its closing moye- 110 ment, should move faster than' thechain, the latterl and studl53 and spring 55 will move inward yin thehousing, spring 55 beingAV moved inward because the chain link is Widerthan the internal diameter lof spring 55. This inward movement is causedby enn y tension spring'GO and when the chain becomes taut With relationto thedoorythe spring 55 will act betiveen collar' 54 and shoulder 56 asafshoc'k absorber. n

During the closing movementspht ring 81 acts 'frictinally to retardundeslred swinging. yIn case of the .action of any external force, suchas Wind, tending to slaml 'v the door closed the button 8O will..enga-ge 125 disk'83 and prevent closinguntil the de sired closing isaccomplished by the closing and checking mechanism'. L i l Among theadvantages` of my'de'vice I may point out that it is very simple and 13ocompact and this compactness is largely contributed by my use 4of theWorm disclosed which isl of such a pitch thatit actuatesithe piston onthe upstroke oflthe latter. and

is actuated by the piston on the downstroke of the latter. Anotherfeatureof great rac.

tical importance lis that with my vertically moving piston thecheckinggchamber is at Athe bottom of the ycasing and consequently thereis no danger of the formation of air pockets.

What I claim is: i 1. A device vof the character described comprising adoor member or the like; a

supporting member therefor; means to close the door including` avertically movable piston embedded in one of said members;

a Vertical axis and .actuated to contribute to the closing, a verticallyreciprocating piston directly engaging said Worm, the pitchof the wormbeing such as to actuate the piston in its movement in one verticaldirection and such that the Worm is` actuated by the piston in themovement of the latter in the other vertical direction, said piston andsaid Worm being embedded inone of said membersl a c linder Wall cooeratincwith said piston; means to prevent relative angular movementbetween,v the piston and wall;

and fluid means to check the'closing action of the closing means. l

3. Av ldevice of the character described l comprising a ydoor or thelike; a support therefor; means to close the door including aA sprocketand a chain cooperating With said sprocket, said chain operativelyconnecting the door andl support; means to check the closing action` ofthe closing means; and means additional to said chec 'ng means to stopundesired closing of the door.

4. A device `of the character-described comprising a` door -or.thelike;`a support therefor; means to close the door including' a flexibleelement having a free end, and-a rotary element; means to guide the freeend of the He'xible element into engagement With the rotary element; andmeans to check the closing action of the closing means.

5. A device of the character described comprisinga door or the like; asupport'v therefor; a flexible element connecting the door and support;a rotary element cooperating with the flexible element; an additionalrotary element .to lay' away. the flexible element in proper positionfor use; and means`to disengage the flexible element from said additional rotary element.

' 6. A device of the character described comprising a door or the like';`a' support therefor a flexible element connecting the door ansupport; a rotary element cooperating `With the flexible element; andresilient means to lay away a portion of the flexible element in properposition for use.v

7. A device of the character described "comprisinga door or the like; asupport therefor; a flexible elementconnecting the door and support; arotaryelement cooperating with the flexible element; and an additionalrotary element and a coiled spring to lay away a portion/of the flexibleelement in proper position foruse.

8. A device of the characterr describedl comprising a -door member orthe like;

Va supporting member therefor; checking `means mounted in one of saidmembers; a `flexible element connecting the door and support; andresilient means in the other of Said. members acting as atake-up for theflexible element.

9. A device of the character described comprising adoorl or the like; asupport therefor; means to close the door; means to check the closingaction of the closing means; and means, operatively connected with theclosing means and connected at all times to the door and support, toprevent undesired complete closing of the door, said last-mentionedmeans being movable automatically to permit complete closing whendesired.

10.' Ar device of the character described comprising a door member orthe like; a

supporting member therefor; means to close the door; means to check theclosing action of thc closing means; a housing in one of' said members;and means to prevent undesired complete closing of the door, saidlastmentioned means being movable automaticallytd permit completeclosing when desired and including an element hav-ing sliding andfrictional engagement With the interior of said housing, said preventingmeans'being operatively connected with the closing means.

l1. A device of the character described comprising a door member or thelike ;4 a support th-erefer; lmeans to close 'they door door andsupport, a Worm, and a piston directly engaging said Worm, the latteractuating the piston to move the piston inone direction and the wormbeing actuated by the piston in themovement of the piston in the otherdirection; and means to check the lclosingaction of the closing means.

BENJAMIN S. BERN-HARD.

including a flexible member connecting -thei

